Everything is You
by VivienneGray
Summary: To most people, Merlin Emrys was barely visible. An un-special person. Certainly, his painting skills were excellent. His musical ability was better than average. Somehow, thought, he had the ability to appear in the background, even if he was standing at the front of a queue. He was always just there. Not noticeable. Not important or particularly valuable. [Modern AU]
1. Chapter 1

To most people, Merlin Emrys was barely visible. An un-special person. Certainly, his painting skills were excellent. His musical ability was better than average. Somehow, thought, he had the ability to appear in the background, even if he was standing at the front of a queue. He was always just _there_. Not noticeable. Not important or particularly valuable. Walking through the crowded halls of Rosewood Boarding School, Merlin dodged the unfamiliar faces that pushed against him and knocked him out of the way. He slipped his hands into his jean pockets, keeping his gaze a few feet in front of him so as not to walk into anyone, and pondered the idea of skipping his first class of the day.

_What's the worst that could happen_, he thought. _I get detention? Some disapproving looks from the headmaster? _

Merlin let out a heavy sigh and lifted his head. In front of him were a group of approximately 6-8 boys, all dressed in rugby shirts, all laughing wildly at some joke that probably wasn't even that funny. Looking around the long, dull hallway, Merlin looked for an escape route. To his left were three doors, each labelled: Art Room 1, Art Room 2 and Art Supplies. Merlin's heart beat a little faster, as he got closer to the group with every step. Looking to the right, two more doors greeted him. Merlin stopped in his tracks and headed for the first door he saw: English 1.

Throwing open the door, Merlin halted in his tracks. Sat at the front of the row of seven chairs, top two shirt buttons undone, blazer thrown to the floor and shirt sleeves rolled up, was an irritated looking boy. Merlin quietly shut the door behind him, glancing around the classroom nervously.

'H-hello.' He said, quietly. The boy's grey eyes looked up at him, and Merlin felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention. He watched the sullen-looking face for a moment, and eventually the boy spoke.

'Can I help you?'

Merlin swallowed and took a step forward, rubbing his sweaty hands on his shirt.

'No-no. Well, uh. I'm kind of lost, actually…' The blonde boy raised his eyebrows, urging Merlin to continue, and Merlin found himself suddenly speechless. After a few moments of silence, the boy spoke up.

'First day?' he asked, a small smile appearing on his lips.

'Uhm, yes.' Merlin replied with a smile.

'Where are you trying to find?' It took Merlin a moment to register the boy's words, and he searched his pockets, eventually pulling out a small piece of crumpled up paper. Written on it was Merlin's schedule, and the first thing he saw was Maths.

'M- maths.' Merlin's eyebrows creased, and he looked back up.

'What teacher?'

'Dawson…' The boy leaned back in his chair and chuckled.

'I have him first, too.'

'Really?' Merlin said, talking a step forward.

'Yeah. Really.' Getting to his feet, the boy slammed his book shut and swung his bag over his shoulder. He walked to the door, opening it and then looking back at Merlin.

'Come on, then.' He said, impatiently.

…

'I'm Gwaine.' The boy said, pushing through a group of people. Merlin flinched as one of them walked right into him, pushing him to the side and glancing back only to give Merlin an unkind look. Merlin sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, as he usually does when he's nervous or scared.

'Pay no attention to him, he's like that with everyone.' Gwaine said, noticing the look on Merlin's face. Merlin looked at him and smiled.

'What's your name? Gwaine asked, shoving his hands into his jacket pocket.

'Merlin.'

'Merlin? You mean, like-'

'Yeah, yeah, Like the wizard.' Gwaine laughed as he moved out of the way of more people. Merlin's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at Gwaine, questioningly.

'Believe me, you're not the only one with a name from that legend…'

'What do you mean?'

'You'll find out soon enough.'

Gwaine turned a sharp right and headed down another, shorter corridor, with Merlin following closely behind him. Stopping in front of one of the doors, Gwaine turned to Merlin.

'Where d'ya move from?' he asked, turning the handle and pushing the door open. Merlin looked around the classroom. It was half-full already. In the corner, a small group of girls were huddled together, whispering and giggling like children. A few rows away from them sat a lone figure, his blonde hair falling in front of his eyes. He glared sown at a textbook, a confused expression on his face, as he gnawed on the end of a pencil. Sat behind him was a girl, ginger hair and overweight, she had her elbows rested on the desk and was gazing intently at the back of the blonde boy's hair. Merlin looked to the front of the classroom, where a blackboard stood with words scribbled in white chalk, and an old wooden desk sat, covered in papers. Merlin looked back to Gwaine, who had taken a few steps into the room and had subsequently caught the attention of one of the girls in the corner.

'Surrey.' Merlin said, his voice quieter than it was before. It appeared that, whenever more people were around him, his voice refused to get any louder than a whisper. Gwaine took a seat in the row next to the blonde boy, and Merlin stumbled after him, his eyes once again glued to the floor. Looking between the empty chair and the boy next to it, Merlin felt his throat go dry. Gwaine's expression turned confused as Merlin just stood, looking at the empty chair. He leaned over to Merlin, a cheeky grin on his face.

'He doesn't bite, y'know.' He said, nodding in Arthur's direction. Merlin gave a nervous chuckle. Shakily pulling out the chair, he rushed to sit in it before his legs gave out from under him. As he sat down, he bumped shoulders with the boy beside him, and his breath hitched as he saw the boy raise his head and look at him. Merlin looked back.

'S-sorry.' He mumbled, slipping down in his chair and wishing the redness from his cheeks. Beside him, he could hear Gwaine chuckling, which only made Merlin want to sink into the ground and disappear. He looked at the walls of the classroom, carefully and slowly reading the words that were scrawled all over the many educational posters that hung on them.

The bell rang, and Merlin gripped the seat of his chair tightly, waiting for the room to fill with unfamiliar faces. He turned his head to the door as it was noisily thrown open, and all too soon the room was filled with the vicious voices of the many people that were now his classmates.


	2. Chapter 2

A tall, grey haired woman walked into the room, and the students fell silent. Merlin gripped his arm, and looked at her, taking in the long, greasy hair and the un-even eyebrows, and the way her glasses seemed just a little too big for her small, bony face. He heard the blonde boy next to him yawn, and he turned his head a little, trying to see his face. The boy had leaned back in his chair and had his hands clasped together, resting on his stomach. Merlin fiddled with the pencil that he had pulled from his bag, as he took in the dark-blue eyes and his golden, blonde hair. Arthur Rested his hands behind his head and stretched, and his shirt rode up, revealing the tiniest bit of pale, white skin, and Merlin whipped his eyes back to the front of the room, feeling the heat returning to his cheeks.

The teacher stood behind her desk, looking over the top of her glasses. In her hands were a pile of textbooks, dark red and yellow with the words **Mathematics Grade 3** written on the cover in large, black letters. Merlin dropped his pencil onto his desk and glanced at Gwaine, and then to his hands. Maths was not his best subject, in fact he would gladly say that it was his worst. In his last school, he had failed every test and every mini-exam that he had been given, much to the disappointment of his father.

A small cough echoed through the room, and Merlin turned his eyes forward once again.

'Alright, Gwen and…' The woman rubbed the side of her nose, as she looked around at the teenagers in front of her. 'And Clementine, please give out the textbooks.' Merlin watched as the red headed girl sat behind the blonde boy got to her feet and slowly walked past his table [Truthfully, it was more of a waddle that a walk, but Merlin thought it rude to say, even if it _was_ only in his head], her long, straight hair almost reaching her knees. Seemingly for no reason, the girl fell to the floor, her arms thrown out in front of her, and a ripple of laughter ran through the students as she struggled to get back to her feet.

'What's wrong, fat ass? Can't get up?' a voice called from the back of the room, followed by more laughter. At the front of the room, the teacher called out in a mouse-like voice, attempting to quieten the classroom, and after a few moments of struggling, the girl [Clementine, was it?] got to her feet, puffing and panting, and made her way, red-faced, to the front of the classroom to join a pretty, raven haired girl at the teachers desk.


	3. Chapter 3

It took approximately 37 minutes and 3 seconds for the boredom to finally overcome Arthur Pendragon. Clearing his throat, he gazed emotionlessly at the textbook that was in front of him [opened to page 47, as it had been for twenty minutes now], and as the words of the teacher echoed silently around in his brain, he picked up the black pen that lay in front of him. Arthur lifted his notebook and silently turned it to a new, blank page. He lifted the pen to his mouth and used his teeth to pull of the cap, spitting it into his hand.

He placed the tip of his pen to the paper and absentmindedly, he began to sketch out the shape of a face.

…**..**

Merlin licked his lips, staring at the equation on the page in front of him.

_Alright_, he thought, rubbing his hands together underneath the desk. _If I think it through, it should… work. Ummm, squiggly line… bracket, letter f. Another bracket…_

Merlin sighed outwardly, and ran a hand through his black hair. Looking around the room, he saw people scribbling the answers into their books, and he wished that he could be at least half as smart as them, but Maths just wasn't his thing. It never had been, and he doubted that it ever would be.

Glancing to the left, he saw the look of concentration on the blonde boy's face and, looking down, saw that he was no longer working on his Maths. Instead, he was busy sketching the face of a boy that was sat not too far away from him. To Merlin the drawing was perfect; he had every little detail right, the way the boy's hair flowed a certain way, the millions of freckles that were spread over his cheeks. Even the way his clothes creased, this boy had a talent.

Merlin grew uneasy as he felt himself being watched, and he realised that the pen had stopped moving. Lifting his head, he found himself staring into a pair of deep-blue eyes.

…**.**

Arthur looked into the eyes of the raven-haired boy, a little irritated. Nobody was allowed to see his sketches, he wouldn't even show his own sister the drawings he had done of her. He quickly closed his notebook, and turned his head to the front of the class.

…**.**

Merlin quickly glanced to the front of the class, and then to a spot on the desk, in front of Arthur. He opened his mouth to talk, and the promptly closed it again. Merlin lifted his eyes to look at him. He was almost ready to attempt to speak, when a bell echoed throughout the room. All around him, people pushed chairs away from desks, and sprinted out of the classroom and into the hallway. Merlin lifted his bag and got too his feet, moving Gwaine's chair out of the way to let himself past. Walking out into the hallway, Merlin was surprised to find it almost deserted.


End file.
